


And they were roommates

by pocketberries



Category: Naruto
Genre: F/M, Multi, but y'all are welcome to read it, i know this is like. the most overdone plot but let me be, this is the most self indulgent bs i've ever written
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-03-28
Updated: 2020-09-05
Packaged: 2021-02-28 16:28:38
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 5
Words: 14,597
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/23360221
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/pocketberries/pseuds/pocketberries
Summary: The long celebrated plot trope. Sakura gets kicked out of her rental, and has to find a new place. With new room(house)mates.
Relationships: Akatsuki/Haruno Sakura
Comments: 43
Kudos: 133





	1. Chapter 1

Chapter 1

“Nooooo.”

Sakura let out a low, exasperated groan. “Nooomygod, why nowww. Why.”

Okay. She’d been expecting this, and she’d been aware that this email could’ve come at any time. She knew that renting a place actually for sale came with risks, but then who would’ve been able to resist relatively low rent with no roommates? With no gross beer stains on the couch, garbage bags spilling at the doorstep, and dirty dishes in the kitchen? Sakura gave a slight shudder at the war flashbacks she’d accumulated after staying with ten other student occupants. She’d been desperate to leave the place, but you try finding anything available, let alone anything affordable, in a bustling university city. And after visiting many, many, many other student houses Sakura started to get sick of getting turned down because someone else reacted 0.2 milliseconds faster on the ad.

But then. She’d found this little gem tucked away in a large apartment complex. Originally for sale, the seller couldn’t find anyone willing to commit to the place, and so had put it up for rent for a very appealing price, on one condition: should anyone actually want to buy it, Sakura would have to move out within a month. She’d agreed, and been living very happily in her tiny studio with glorious quiet and a clean sink for almost half a year now. Med school was exhausting but amazing, and her apartment was close by the university and the hospital she did her shifts. When she could manage to squeeze them in between her crazy study schedule, she met up with Ino, and hung out with Tenten after their Aikido and kickboxing sessions. She usually met Hinata just to see a similarly fatigued face during paper crunch time, and the comfortable silence filled only with typing sounds. Naruto and Sasuke she didn’t have to seek out as much, because the former would make sure she had ramen with them at least every two weeks or so.

Sakura closed her eyes and flopped down onto the small couch. Moving. Where to? She didn’t want to leave this place. It was so conveniently located, and though she knew she could stay with some of her friends if she really needed to, that would always only be temporary. She grimaced at the thought of having to apply for student housing vacancies again, but what else was there, honestly?

Mass text – sent.

Sakura: y’all, please tell me anyone knows anyplace I can rent? Gonna be kicked out of my current studio soon. Help??

Ino: omg what?? Why? Ill ask around. Cant promise anything but if u need to crash u can

Hinata: Oh no, I’m so sorry to hear that ☹ I’ll see if anyone I know has a place

“Bless your little hearts,” Sakura mumbled. She’d get cardboard boxes and everything next time she went out for groceries, but right now she had to get another hour of homework done and then head off to a three-hour shift.

While studying, a text from Tenten popped up:

oh shit girl that sucks!! Idk any open spots but I’ll keep my eyes peeled

And when Sakura finally got to check her phone after a gruelling busy time at the hospital, Sasuke and Naruto had texted her as well. Still in her white coat and hair put up in a tiny ponytail, Sakura hurriedly read them.

Naruto: OH NO im sorry sak!!! Come stay with us!!!

Naruto: youll have to sleep on the couch tho…

Groan. The sentiment is appreciated, but… “Please, Sasuke…”

Sasuke: I think Itachi mentioned something a while back. I’ll ask him and let you know.

Sakura’s eyebrows flew upward in happy surprise, but she vowed not to get too excited. She started typing an answer, but then Shizune, her supervisor, stuck her head in the locker room. “Sakura, can you confirm these shifts for me? Someone messed with the schedule and now I’ve got to make sure everyone’s in there correctly.”

“Be right there,” Sakura answered and shoved her phone in her pocket.

God, finally home. After hanging up her jacket and putting her shoes away, Sakura looked at the red sinking sunlight on the walls. Her throat felt unexpectedly tight; she’d really loved living here. She would miss it. She dropped her bag on the couch, and rubbed her face. Not much in the fridge left, but leftovers save the day once again. Sakura finished some cold veggie stir fry with rice while looking over her schedule. Tomorrow morning lecture and a practicum, but! A free afternoon! Perfect for homework and bulk cooking to get her through the week. I haven’t seen Ino in a while, though, Sakura mused to herself. She took another bite of broccoli and egg, and right when she decided that she should text her friend to see if she was free to meet for some coffee, her phone started ringing.

Sakura swallowed too quickly in surprise, and picked up with a “H-hello? Uchaaghargh – Sakura here,” and got a coughing fit.

“Are you alright? This a bad time?” Sasuke’s amused voice said.

“No, sorry, just startled. What’s up?”

“I asked Itachi about his living situation, and they are actually still looking for someone. Said it’d been neglected because everyone was either busy or a lazy bum.”

Sakura snickered. She’d always liked Itachi; he’d often hung out with their little trio, and Sasuke looked up to him so much, it was kind of endearing to see. They’d talked about books and philosophy a couple of times, and his quiet solidity always put her at ease.

“Oh, wow, that’s awesome! Any chance he could put in a word for me? I have a month to leave this place.”

“Yeah, actually…” Sasuke’s voice was muffled and further away for a second, and by the background yelling Sakura figured it was probably Naruto.

“Itachi said you could come ‘round and meet the people staying there if you want,” Sasuke casually delivered, as if he didn’t just save Sakura’s life there and then.

“You. You are a god. I bow to you, beloved and esteemed deity.”

A small snicker. “Don’t thank me until after you’ve met them. They’re ‘Tachi’s friends, I think you’ve seen them a few times.”

“Mmm, I remember. Haven’t really properly talked to them, though. They usually just kind of hang out by themselves.”

“Yeah. They’re not too bad, but just go see yourself. Anyway, he said to call him or text him so you guys could decide on when.”

“Thanks so much, Sasuke. I really appreciate it.”

“Don’t mention it.”

“I’ll see you guys soon, okay? I want to know how you’re doing and everything.”

“We’re okay. I’ve just finished a few deadlines, but Naruto is still in the middle of it. After he’s done he’ll probably force us all to Ichiraku.”

Sakura smiled. “Okay. Looking forward, love you guys.”

“See you later,” and with that, Sasuke hung up.

For a few seconds, Sakura gazed out into nothingness, but then she shook her head, forced herself back to her senses and finished her food. After a much needed shower and putting on comfy clothes, she texted Itachi, and received the prompt reply of:

Does tomorrow afternoon work for you, around 2 or 3?

So of course, she said yes.


	2. Chapter 2

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> an early update as a little treat... I hope you enjoy! Thanks so much for the sweet comments so far!!

Chapter 2  
“Wow, this place is actually… really, really nice.”  
“I hope you’ll say the same after you’ve seen the inside,” Itachi smiled at Sakura and offered the open door to her.  
And it was, more or less. There was the expected amount of clutter and bits and bobs lying around, but the house wasn’t too messy. Sakura realised she actually kind of liked to see a place so lived-in. Her own little studio had been neat, but some days med school, shifts and friends ate up so much of her time she felt like she hardly lived at home. As a result, the spotless countertops and tidy room could feel a little, well, empty.  
“This is the living room,” Itachi gestured after they exited the hallway to the right. “It’s a communal space, just like the kitchen. That translates to: please don’t leave too many personal belongings lying around.”  
“Does everyone cook for themselves?”  
“When enough people are at home we sometimes have dinner together, but as for the rest of our day we eat whenever we have time. People buy their own food, and we have separate sections in the kitchen where everyone keeps their stuff. For shared meals we pitch in every month. This is the big kitchen, but there’s another kitchenette on the second floor so that people don’t get in each others’ ways too much.”  
Sakura nodded. “’Mkay. That’s where I’ll be staying, right?”  
“Yes. Downstairs there’s Sasori, Kisame, and Hidan; upstairs me, Deidara, and you. There’s a bathroom on each floor. Would you like to see your room?”  
“Please,” Sakura said, and followed Itachi as he pointed to each door and named the room’s occupants.  
“Thank you so much, Itachi. I’m really glad I could get a place with people I know a little without paying an absurd amount.”  
“No problem at all,” he looked back at her, and his eyes crinkled into a smile. “Here it is.”  
“Oh…” Sakura stepped into the sunlit room. Though small, it could house a bed, a desk and a wardrobe, which really? Was all Sakura needed and asked for. The window looked out on the back of the house, and Sakura’s gazed over at other buildings nearby.  
“This is perfect,” she said, back still turned to Itachi, and when she spun around she shot him a big smile. “Now all I need to do is get some friends to help me with moving my stuff…” Sakura’s nose wrinkled in thought. “Do you happen to know anyone with a van or something?”  
“Kisame has a pick-up truck that might be of help. You can ask him yourself, because they should…” Itachi glanced down at his watch. “…be here by now.”  
Sure enough, Sakura heard the slam of a door, footsteps, and voices starting to drift upstairs. Pushing away the nervous flutter in her stomach, Sakura said: “Cool, let’s go meet them?”  
“Hidan couldn’t be here, I’m afraid,” Itachi said over his shoulder as they descended the stairs. “Sorry about that. He had something he couldn’t reschedule, but he gave the OK as long as you…” Itachi paused. “Were a good housemate, essentially.”  
Sakura quirked an eyebrow, but didn’t say anything. Clearly Itachi was taking some liberties translating what Hidan had said, but she didn’t feel like she really wanted to know. Downstairs they were met with talking and laughter; the three guys were hanging around the kitchen and drinking soda or beer.   
“Yo! There you are,” the tallest of them looked up and held out his hand to Sakura. “Nice to meetcha,” he said with a toothy grin.  
Sakura shook his hand, which, jesus, her own hand disappeared into. “You’re… Kisame, right? We haven’t met officially, but we’ve definitely seen each other.”  
“Mmmyeah, I think I remember. Glad to see I made an impression.”  
Sakura laughed. “Hard not to.” Considering the guy was, what, well over two meters tall and ridiculously buff. “Oh, and you must be…” she trailed off, looking at the other two. She’d seen these two around the Uchiha house when she played, hung out and studied there with Sasuke and Naruto. Itachi had had his friends over every once in a while, and if she wasn’t mistaken she’d seen these two squabble a couple of times.  
“Deidara, yeah.” The blonde gave her a smile, and the bright blue of the eye that wasn’t hidden beneath his long bangs startled Sakura for a second. “Good to meet you. Me ‘n Sasori,” and he pointed his thumb and the person behind him, “are usually at KC, and our hours are kinda’ weird, so I’m not sure you’ll see much of us, yeah.”  
“KC?”  
“The Konoha Central Institution of the Arts,” Sasori filled in. “It’s good to meet you, Sakura. You’re a medical student yourself, right?”  
“Yep! So we’ll share the weird hour thing. I’ll be very quiet when I have night shifts though, so don’t worry. It’s good to meet you all,” and Sakura tucked her hair behind her ear, feeling a little shy and self-conscious.  
“Officially welcome to the fam, Sakura,” and Kisame spread his arms wide. “When are you going to move in for real?”  
“Actually, about that…”  
It turned out that Kisame was happy to lend Sakura his pick-up truck, and more than that, he offered to help her carry and load her things. After a couple more agreements, schedules, house rules and sorting out the financial setup, Sakura went home with a tired but satisfied glow. All she needed to do now was go through and pack up her belongings, which really shouldn’t take more than a day or two. This was all going so much more smoothly than expected, and the guys genuinely seemed nice. She texted her friends to let them know she’d found a place, and sent Sasuke a photo of her goofy big smile with extra thanks.  
Sasuke: Glad it all worked out. Naruto says that he’ll beat them all up if they’re gross though.  
Sakura snickered. Ino had raised similar eyebrows at the possibility of living with only guys, but Sakura had waved her concerns away. “It’ll be fine,” she’d said, “I’ve lived in mixed dorms before, and as long as everyone just accommodates to each other a little it’s no problem.”  
Besides, Itachi’s familiarity made it even less big of a deal. She was used to his presence, since she’d spent so much of her time at the Uchiha mansion growing up. And she was sure that his friends wouldn’t be too crazy. Right?  
Humming, Sakura set to making herself some dinner, and went over some study material in the evening. When she finally settled into bed, she couldn’t help the small smile as she drifted off to sleep.

“Oh my god, what’s in here? Your heavy lifting kettlebells?”  
“Don’t be so dramatic, Naruto.”  
“Naruto just has weak little noodle arms, Sakura,” Sasuke said as he passed them by with two boxes stacked in his arms. “Can’t blame him.”  
“You take that back you sneaky son of a –”  
“Here you go,” and Sakura pushed a considerably lighter box with clothes in Naruto’s hands. Still grumbling, he trotted down the stairs to Kisame’s car. Its owner was currently busy manoeuvring Sakura’s mattress into the optimal position where it wouldn’t fall off immediately once they started driving, accompanied by some occasional swearing.   
After a few more trips up and down, Sakura gave the studio a last look-over. It was mostly tidy, clean enough to leave behind as it was, and… no longer hers. It was weird to see it so empty, too. Kisame startled her out of her pondering by slapping a hand on her shoulder. “You all ready to go?”  
“I, yeah. Mhm.” Sakura nodded and ran her hand through her hair. “Yep. All ready.”  
Kisame chuckled. “You’re gonna be okay. C’mon.”  
And as they exited, the door with the little square window slowly swung shut behind them.

“Whew!” Sakura put down the last box in her room (her room! She did a tired little dance.) and wiped her sweaty palms on her pants. Though some of the boxes had been quite heavy with medical books and journals, all in all she didn’t actually have to pack that much stuff. Most of the furniture in her previous studio had been included in the rent, which was now a huge relief. She’d already found a second-hand drawer to replace her previous wardrobe, and for now she could just put her mattress on the ground as-is. She’d brought her desk and desk chair, though; she’d invested in good ones considering the amount of hours she spent studying or typing.  
Guess I’ll put away some clothes, Sakura thought to herself. And it was thus that Itachi found her amidst a small mountain of garments, humming to herself as she folded them and put them away. She’d had to clean the drawer, obviously, but it was in pretty good shape, and a nice warm shade of walnut brown. Only one of the handles was missing.  
“Sakura?”  
“Oh!” A little flustered, Sakura dropped the underwear she was holding, and inconspicuously tried to shuffle into a sitting position that would hopefully hide it from view. “Um, what’s up?”  
“We’re having dinner together tonight, do you feel like joining? Kisame and I will be cooking. There’ll be pasta and vegetable dishes.”  
“That sounds great, actually. I’m free tonight, so I can help out too if you want?”  
Itachi’s lips curved into a quick smile. “Appreciated, but we’re good on manpower. Just so you’re aware, we usually eat buffet style. Since you and Sasori are vegetarian and Deidara has lactose intolerance we make some dishes separately.”  
“Cool, that sounds great.”  
“We eat around half past 6,” Itachi said. He paused, and lowering his eyelids as well as his voice every so slightly, he said: “I’m…glad you’re here.”  
Sakura felt a little shiver go through her that didn’t have anything to do with her temperature, which was undeniably steadily rising under his gaze. “Ah,” Sakura’s flush turned into a nice shade of red. “Yeah. Me too.”  
With a smile, Itachi left, his long black ponytail swinging on his back.   
Still feeling rather warm, Sakura finished putting her clothes away. No sense in reading into that. Itachi was just being nice and was trying to make her feel welcome.   
When she was done, she followed her nose downstairs, since something was cooking and it was smelling good. Sasori and Deidara were already seated in the kitchen, playing a card game. Kisame looked over his shoulder at Sakura’s entering, and the apron he had on actually looked… well. Cute. Also, he was only wearing a tanktop and he was ripped as hell.  
That wasn’t to say that Itachi didn’t match up to him, because if he’d walked up onto a Gucci runway with his rolled up sleeves, slightly unbuttoned shirt and handtowel over his shoulder, Sakura would’ve believed she was seeing the latest high fashion trend.  
She looked away before her gaze turned into staring because that’s just rude. She wasn’t sure if Kisame noticed that she looked at his arms a little bit too long, or if Itachi felt her glance at his butt, but feigned innocent ignorance regardless.  
Kisame grinned at her. “Yo.”  
Sakura couldn’t help but grin back. “Hey, I really owe you one for today. First you help me move, and now I get to eat your cooking? Thanks so much.”  
He winked. “No prob.”  
Sakura seated herself next to the two artists; Sasori was just putting their cards away as she did so. “Hi, Sakura. Did everything go okay with the moving?”  
“Yep! Not totally unpacked yet, but I’m good for now.”  
Sasori smiled at her, and at that moment the sunlight hit him just so that his long eyelashes cast a shadow on his cheek, and the his red hair lit up like he was wearing a halo. Oh, well, that must be an angel, Sakura thought casually to herself, then did a doubletake.  
Was this… an illusion? Hallucination? Sakura rubbed her eyes. Damn, when was the last time she’d gone on a date? Was that it? Anyway –   
“Food’s ready, boys ‘n girls,” Kisame boomed, and for the first minute or two there were only eating noises, because brain juice for studying comes from calories and all of them were pretty darn hungry.  
“Wow, this is really good,” Sakura exclaimed, and Kisame chuckled at her obvious attempt to hide her surprise.  
“Didn’t think we could cook, didja?”  
Sakura laughed. “Totally proved me wrong. Does everyone cook?”  
“Kisame and I usually pair up to save time,” Itachi said. “Sasori is a pretty decent cook, Deidara can make a few simple dishes, but please don’t eat anything Hidan serves you.”  
“Excuse me? A few simple dishes, yeah? Fuck you and your goddamn five star pasta,” Deidara said through a full mouth.  
Sasori said, “Where is Hidan, anyway? I thought he said he would join us.”  
Kisame checked his phone. “He did say so, but no texts or anything. We’ll just leave him some.”  
“Not if I eat it all,” Sakura said. “Oh my god, this is really good. Can you teach me the sauce sometime? I want to make this kind of stuff too.”  
“Of course,” Itachi said. Sakura beamed at him. Dinner continued with questions back and forth between her and the guys in an attempt to get to know each other a little, and all was pleasant conversation, until it wasn’t.  
Sakura nearly jumped from her chair at the crash of the door being thrown shut, accompanied by loud swearing and stamping of boots. A man with startling violet eyes and slicked back silver hair stomped into the common room. At the sight of Sakura, he stopped and stared. “The fuck are you?”  
Was that… blood? On his face? “I’m… your new roommate?”  
Hidan sniffed. “Didn’t know we roomed up with lil’ kids these days.”  
Sakura’s eyes narrowed, but in an effort to not ruin her reputation in the first day of knowing her new living companions she only quipped, “It’s nice to meet you, too.”  
“Nice entrance, Hidan,” Deidara said drily. “Are you gonna’ eat with us, yeah?”  
“Nah, just leave me some. I gotta’ clean up some mess,” Hidan said and he cursed again. “Fuckin’ cop son of a bitch pulled me over.” And he marched out of the room.  
“Well,” Itachi said. “I hope the cop son of a bitch gave him a ticket for his foul mouth on top of whatever traffic violation he’s committed this time.”  
Oh, that’s right, Sakura realised, of course he’d be a little peeved. The whole Uchiha family had ties in either law or the police department, and Itachi was training to join the family business. The chances that Hidan was just fined by some Uchiha relative were honestly pretty big. Sakura was relieved she didn’t have to spend her first dinner here next to some rude asshole, and offered Itachi a sympathetic look.   
“Sorry about that,” Kisame said. “Hidan can be kinda’ rude.”  
“It’s okay,” Sakura replied, but when she was doing the dishes with Sasori after dinner, she asked him: “Is Hidan always like that?”  
Sasori gave her a look. “Most of the time. You’ll get used to it quickly, though. A lot of bark and not much bite.”  
Sakura nodded, and took another plate he handed to her. Well, as long as he left her alone, she’d be fine. There’s always going to be one roommate you don’t get along with as well, after all.

Which is why Hidan surprised her by plopping down in the armchair next to the couch she was curled up on later that evening, reading a historical fiction Itachi had recommended to her. She decided against an attempt at conversation, though. She didn’t have free time for reading often, and you had better believe she was going to spend it wisely.   
“Yo,” Hidan said, and Sakura looked up. “So you live here now or whatever?”  
Or not.  
“Uh, yeah. I actually moved in just today.”  
“Huh. So who you fucking here?”

“He said that? What an asshole!” Ino exclaimed, and she put down her cup of coffee. “Jesus, Sak, are all these guys like this?”  
“No, no,” Sakura laughed. “Just Hidan, apparently. The others seem nice enough.”  
“What did you even say to him?”  
“I told him very sweetly that I currently prefer physical activities where I kick large objects very hard, and that he was welcome to try it out with me sometime.”  
Ino snorted. “Jesus. Who says that though? That’s awful!”  
“I know. I just hope he leaves me alone whenever I’m around in the house.” Sakura drank from her latte, and put it down with a sigh. “God, I’m tired. I didn’t think the moving would hit me that hard, but I’m pretty beat. It’s so nice to catch up with you like this.”  
“Of course, babe,” Ino said. “I’m just glad you have time for once. I haven’t seen you in, what a month? Do I have to march to the hospital and bribe them into giving you some downtime?”  
Sakura smiled. “I’m sorry, I know I’ve been super busy. How’s everything going with beauty school?”  
The girls chatted for a while, and Ino updated Sakura on the dates she’d been on in the meantime, which had been meh, okay, pretty good and awful, in that order, and well, Sakura, since you’re living with 4 hot guys and one waste of space, introduce them to her sometime maybe? At which Sakura laughed, and said she was keeping Itachi’s cooking skills all to herself no matter how much she begged.  
Once they were all caught up and had finished their coffee, they hugged goodbye.   
“I missed you! Let’s meet up again soon, okay?”  
“You know it, girl. Text me, okay? I have to run now, I have a meeting with my internship supervisor.”  
Sakura wished her friend good luck and waved as Ino crossed the street with impressive ease on her three-inch heels. As she turned to go home, she felt her phone buzz.  
Deidara: behind you  
Ominous. Warily, Sakura turned around, and was met with a goofy grin. She relaxed and laughed. “Oh my gosh, hi! Didn’t we do that in what, secondary school?”  
Deidara winked at her. “Good jokes never get old, yeah. What’s up? Whatcha’ doing here?”  
“I just met up with a friend. How about you?”  
“On my way home from KC,” Deidara said and lifted a big bag filled with large rolls of paper and other mysterious tools Sakura couldn’t identify. “Needed some stuff for a project. You heading home?”  
Sakura nodded, and they continued to walk beside each other. “What are you making?”  
This launched Deidara into a detailed explanation of his idea for a tree in different stage of life from clay, and he was talking about his plans so excitedly Sakura couldn’t help but smile at his enthusiasm.  
When they arrived home laughing and talking, Sasori thought Deidara’s face was a little too close to Sakura’s. Closer than his friend would usually get to someone when talking, anyway. And it wasn’t helpful that Sakura was so genuinely engaged in the conversation, and told Deidara that she’d “love to see it when it’s done,” whatever he as making, which was a terrible mistake, really, Sasori mused to himself. Someone should save her from the hours of art philosophy bullshit that Deidara liked to get into and would definitely get into if someone was too polite to tell him to shut the hell up.  
And acting on an impulse, Sasori smoothly interjected their conversation by asking: “Sakura, I got some free tickets to a play, are you interested?”  
This definitely shut Deidara up, who looked at his friend in confusion and surprise. Also, something else that could have been annoyance.  
“Oh!” Sakura’s surprised face was certainly worth it, though. “That’s so sweet of you, it’s been forever since I saw an actual play… I’m definitely interested, but I can’t promise I can make it.”  
“No worries. It’s in two weeks, I can text you the details?”  
“Wow, yeah, please. How’d you know I like theater?”  
“Just a guess,” Sasori said a little smugly, because you bet he felt like he’d just won something with Deidara’s frowning face looking at him.


	3. Chapter 3

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I hope you are all healthy & safe! I'm going to try to update this monthly (or bimonthly). Thank you for all your kind words <3  
> Also, woo! I figured out how to add emphasis in ao3... I might go back to the previous chapters and fix that.

Chapter 3  
And so the first weeks passed. Sakura settled into her new place pretty quickly. Itachi and Kisame were home most of all the guys; art school usually kept Deidara and Sasori late at weird hours, and Hidan worked several part time jobs. Sakura had also found that Kisame made for a wonderful vent buddy; though he specialised in marine life, a lot of the foundation of their studies still rested on biology, and she loved hearing him complain about some unnecessarily complex anemone’s cell structures. Likewise, he was happy to listen to her grumble about other interns at the hospital making stupid mistakes that ate up a lot of time.  
Sakura had been unsure of what exactly Sasori and Deidara spent so much time on making, but their Instagrams revealed a lot of work-in-progress pieces that looked really cool. Sakura had been genuinely impressed with their sculptures and paintings, as well as their patience and dedication. Though she had to regretfully decline Sasori’s tickets – it was on a Saturday where she had a full 8 hour shift scheduled – he’d just smiled and told her they could go some other time. Weirdly sweet. Sasori was pretty calm most of the time, and Sakura suspected he liked to observe the others when they talked and bantered rather than participate. It was more aloof than Itachi’s stoic demeanor, and had something cat-like, really…  
Not to say that Sakura didn’t enjoy Itachi’s company. He hadn’t forgotten about his promise to teach her his recipe, for example. Which was how Sakura found herself walking into the kitchen one sunny afternoon, fumbling with the cords of her apron.   
“Ugh–”  
“Do you need help?”  
Sakura scrunched up her face stubbornly, but gave up after another minute of struggle. Itachi chuckled, and motioned for her to turn around.  
“The hospital uniforms are way easier to put on,” she complained, though she mostly said this to distract herself from his fingers lightly touching her back. It was too brief to be ticklish, but she felt them even after he pulled away.  
“I’m sure they are. Are you all ready?”  
“Yep!” Sakura put up her fists. “Let’s go, tomatoes. It’s war now.”  
The pasta sauce was relatively simple, but Sakura could tell that Itachi had spent time and effort into improving it over time. Tomatoes for the base, add other veggies like spinach and zucchini, pine nuts, salt, pepper, various herbs… Sakura watched Itachi neatly slice vegetables in pieces while he told her the steps.  
“Would you mind putting getting it all in the pan, Sakura? And please put it on low heat.”  
Sakura did so, and carefully stirred the sauce. “This okay?”  
Itachi was just drying his hands, and in a movement so casual Sakura didn’t even register it at first, leaned over and put his entire right arm around her shoulders to take the stirring spoon from her.  
“That’s fine. Just let it simmer for now, and we check in five to ten minutes.”  
Then, for just a second too long, Itachi remained there, standing half-behind her. Sakura felt very aware of the centimeter between her back and his chest.  
“Okay. Time for the sides?”  
They worked side by side in comfortable silence with the only occasional sounds being Itachi’s quiet instructions from time to time, and not too much later food was ready to be served.  
“Well, it smells good, so I think we succeeded,” Sakura said and slipped off her apron. “It’s just the two of us tonight, right?”  
“Yes. Kisame’s at the library, I believe. Hidan is working, and Deidara and Sasori are still at KC.”  
“Gosh, do those two even eat properly when they’re there? They’re always staying so late…”   
“Now you sound just like my mother,” Itachi chuckled at her, and Sakura laughed. The two of them sat down, and after the first bite Sakura beamed at Itachi.  
“This tastes so good!”  
“Well done,” Itachi smiled. “Think you can do it without me next time?”  
“Hmm… I’ll try, but no complaints if it isn’t as good as yours.”  
“Don’t worry,” Itachi said, and he held Sakura’s gaze for a second. “I’d eat it all.”  
Sakura wasn’t sure how to reply, so she went for taking a big bite and looking like a chipmunk. Let’s, uh, steer the conversation to a different topic. She asked Itachi about his current reading material, and Itachi told her about the law case homework he was working on right now. In return, he asked about the hospital, and Sakura entertained him with stories about new interns struggling with the late night shifts.  
When they were cleaning up, they heard the door lock click, and seconds later a very tired Kisame walked into the kitchen.   
“Hey,” Sakura greeted him, and he greeted her back distractedly.  
“Damn, I’m hungry. Anything I can just eat as-is…?” and Kisame swung open the fridge door with a hopeful expression on his face.  
“You’re in luck. We made a bit too much, you can have it if you like,” Itachi said and handed Sakura the last plate to be dried off.  
“Oh my god, yes,” Kisame said, and mere seconds later he was tucking into Sakura’s pasta attempt. “Hey, this is great. A little different than usual, though?”  
“Oh, you’re eating the vegetarian variant,” Sakura said. “Hope it tastes just as good!”  
“Actually, yeah. Hadn’t expect to like meatless so much,” and Kisame shot Sakura a grin. “Thanks for letting me have it.”  
“Of course! Have a good meal,” and, kitchen all cleaned up, Sakura left for her room to revise some paperwork for her internship. She clicked on her desk light, opened her laptop, and set to work. After about an hour, her work was interrupted by a text from Naruto.  
Naruto: sasuke said his fam was gonna have a big party soon, wanna celebrate my exams are over with free food??!!!  
Sakura chuckled.  
Sakura: if sasuke is OK with it sure! When?  
Naruto: this sunday be there be square!!!  
Sakura quickly checked her schedule – she had an early morning hospital shift and kickboxing with Tenten at 1, but if she went to the Uchiha mansion right after she was done she should be able to make it…  
Sakura: K, I’ll do my best! Looking forward  
Naruto: awesome!!!!

The next morning, Sakura left a sleeping house to attend her 9 AM class. Biochem was difficult, but fascinating, and Tsunade was Sakura’s favourite teacher by far. Though strict and demanding, she really cared about her students, and Sakura made sure her attendance was spotless. Followed by a free hour in which Sakura quietly caught up with homework in the university’s library, and a genetics practicum that covered a lot of new material, her head felt pretty stuffed by the time she was done. After running some errands and doing some shopping on her way home, studying was the last thing she felt like doing.  
Fortunately a distraction conveniently presented itself to her the moment she stepped inside.   
“Ugggghhhh godfuckingdammitmotherfucker–”  
“Deidara? You okay?” Sakura had just taken off her shoes, and poked her head into the common room.  
“Oh, hey. Yeah. Fine,” Deidara said through gritted teeth.  
“What are you doing? It smells awful in here,” Sakura said and unzipped her coat, shrugging it off as she walked over.  
“Nail polish, yeah.”  
“Oh, you’re painting your nails? It looks gr–” But Sakura stopped short at seeing his right hand. “The, um, left hand looks great.”  
Deidara gave her a deadpan look. “Thanks.”  
“Want me to help?”  
Deidara looked up at her, left eyebrow rising a little in surprise. “Uh. Yeah, okay? Can you… Are you any good at it?”  
“I don’t really wear it anymore, but when I was younger my friends and I used to do each other’s.” Sakura gently took to cleaning the mess that Deidara had made on the nails of his right hand. “Do you always do it by yourself?”  
“Mm, Sasori usually helps out. He’s way better at it than I am. Wish I was ambidextrous, yeah.” So Deidara said, but his tone of voice was distracted. Sakura’s hands were soft, and smooth, and warm. And nice. She was really gentle, didn’t scrub or press down hard unlike Sasori. Deidara closed his eyes briefly.  
“I like this shade,” Sakura said. Her eyes had been trained on his hand, and she’d therefore missed the unusually relaxed expression on Deidara’s face, or the way he was looking at her just a moment ago.  
Sakura hummed softly as she worked, and the rest of the house was silent. So when Sakura said: “All done!” it startled Deidara out of almost drifting off to sleep.  
“Thanks, yeah. I really appreciate it,” and Deidara gave what he hoped was his best smile. Sakura returned it. “No worries, it was fun. It’s been a while. Just make sure you let it dry completely, okay?”  
“Will do,” Deidara answered, and watched as she picked up her things and marched upstairs. He wiggled the fingers of his right hand, where he could still feel her touch linger.

“Sakura?”  
Sakura pulled out her earbuds at the polite knock on her door. “Come in?”  
The door opened, and Itachi stepped inside. “Am I bothering you?”  
Sakura turned away from her laptop. “No, not at all. What’s up?”  
“I’m not aware if Sasuke has mentioned this to you, but there’s a family gathering this Sunday, and I wanted to know if you’d like to attend?” And he added, so quietly Sakura thought she must have imagined it, “…with me?”  
Probably just heard wrong. “Oh, yeah, Naruto told me about it! I want to go for sure,” Sakura said. “I don’t think I can be there before 3, though.”  
“No worries. The plan is to mingle all day, have dinner and then mingle some more.”  
Sakura laughed. “Sounds like the usual. Great, I guess I’ll see you there!”  
“I could…come pick you up, if you want?”  
“Any other time, yes please, but I’ll probably want to go home and shower first because I’ll be really gross and sweaty… Also, you think Mikoto would just let you leave like that?”  
Itachi smiled. “As you wish. Let me know if you change your mind, though. My mother makes exceptions for you, you know.” With that, he left Sakura to her own thoughts.

Fortunately, working out with Tenten was always a great way to clear her head. After Sakura was done letting out her frustration on a the hanging bag, she was as sweaty as can be. She pushed the wet hairs on her forehead aside.  
“Damn, girl, good job today,” Tenten said. “You doing okay? Something on your mind?”  
“Too many things.” Sakura peeled off her protective gear. “Moving was exhausting, uni is exhausting, and, well, I guess I really am still getting used to living with the guys.”  
“Mhm, that does sound tough.” Tenten clapped a hand on Sakura’s shoulder. “Hang in there.”  
Sakura smiled at her friend. “Thanks. I will. I’ll be fine. I’m just so busy all the time, you know? And there’s so many important things I want and need to do, sometimes my brain feels like it’s in overload.”  
Tenten nodded. “I know what you mean, but you’re gonna’ get there. As long as you schedule stuff that keeps you healthy and happy you can do anything, okay?”  
“Yes, sensei,” Sakura bowed her head. Tenten laughed and winked.  
“Watch out, you better believe I’m gonna’ be a martial arts sensei someday. If you don’t keep up with me I’m gonna’ kick your butt.”  
“Going to? You’re already kicking my butt!”  
“Mm, technique wise maybe, just ‘cause I’ve been training longer than you have. But in raw power you are the boss, hands down.”  
“I am the boss at being the sweatiest, for sure,” and Sakura grabbed her towel. “I’m just going to grab a quick shower. Have fun with Lee and Neji tomorrow! Tell them I said hi.”  
“Thanks, I will. You have fun today, too! I’ll see you next week,” and they parted ways.  
Sakura quickly washed up, went home and changed into something nice. The weather was getting warmer, which meant that she could finally wear cute dresses. She put on matching jewellery, gave herself a smile in the mirror and headed off to the party.

“Sakura!!!”  
Sakura only had time to utter an “oomph” as a blonde energy ball clad in his usual hideous neon orange jacket pounced her.  
“I’m so glad you’re here!! I know you know this but oh my god Uchihas can be so freaking _boring_ ,” but Naruto made sure the last part of that sentence was whispered lest he would receive some nasty looks.  
Sakura patted him on the shoulder to let him know he could stop crushing her to death. “I’m happy to see you too, Naruto.”  
Naruto slackened his grip on her, but kept one arm slung over her shoulder. “Like, they’re all, yes yes, I too am in good health, and you as well I hope? Indeed, I do believe you look as vivacious as last week,” he said in a mocking accent. Sakura laughed and shoved him.  
“C’mon, they’re not that bad. Not all the time, at least.”  
Naruto grinned. “Let’s go find Sasuke! I didn’t fail any of my tests, did you know? We bet on it and he _lost_. And now he’s all grouchy about it.”  
Sakura put a hand to her face and stifled her laughter. “Okay. Let’s go see the defeated,” and before she’d finished her sentence Naruto was already pulling her by the hand through a sea of people she semi-knew; nearly all of them she’d seen and spoken to a number of times. Sakura waved a hand as they passed in hello. Madara grinned widely at her, and Fugaku gave her a nod.  
Sasuke was, just like Naruto had said, grouching over at one of the snack tables placed around the large mansion. He perked up a little when he saw Sakura, though. She hugged her friend, and asked how the sore loser life was treating him.  
Sasuke staggered slightly, but returned the gesture and rolled his eyes. “Whatever. If you keep guessing enough at tests you’re bound to get lucky sometimes.”  
Naruto sniggered and gave Sakura a I-told-you-so look. Sakura laughed and patted Sasuke on the back. “It’s okay, Sasuke, you can sulk as long as you like. I’ll be over here eating snacks,” and she went off to get herself a drink.  
When Sakura picked up a glass and filled it with orange juice, she heard a gentle voice behind her say: “Oh my, it’s so good to see you here, dear.”  
“Oh, Mikoto! I’m happy to see you, too,” and Sakura gave her a slight bow.  
Mikoto laughed and motioned for Sakura to get up. “No need for formalities. How have you been? I wasn’t expecting you to be here today. Did Itachi invite you?”  
Sakura mentally raised some eyebrows at that. I mean, yes, he had invited her, but why did Mikoto name Itachi specifically? She knew that Sasuke usually brought Sakura along to these family parties. Outwardly, she didn’t show any sign of surprise, however, and replied: “I’ve been okay! Busy as always. It’s a good opportunity to see Sasuke and Naruto,” and turned around to wave at her two friends. As she did so, Mikoto’s lips tutted ever so slightly.  
“Please eat up as much as you want, dear. It’s important to take care of yourself, especially during busy times.”  
“I will,” Sakura replied with a smile. Mikoto had always looked out for Sakura, especially since her mom had to travel so much for her job. Single parents don’t have as much to pick and choose when it comes to losing jobs and finding new ones. Though they called each other often, it was tough to have to miss her so much. Mikoto had always invited Sakura to dinners and made sure she felt welcome in the Uchiha house, and Sakura felt no small amount of gratitude for that.  
“Oh, there he is – Itachi?” Mikoto called out and waved. Itachi spotted them, and made his way over with someone following closely behind.  
“Oh, Shisui–!” but before Sakura could say anything else, she was scooped up in a big hug for the second time today.  
“Hey, Sakura! It’s so good to see you, it’s been waaay too long,” Shisui pulled back with a glint in his eyes. “I feel like I see you even less now that you live with ‘Tachi. Is he keeping you all to himself?”  
Itachi let out a small, exasperated groan. “Don’t be ridiculous.”  
“Yes, Shisui, I’m basically a prisoner there. And the worst thing? I’m forced to eat delicious homecooked meals every day. Can you imagine?”  
Shisui rolled his eyes, but Mikoto cut in. “I heard you’ve been cooking together. Has Itachi taught you any of my dishes yet?”  
Before Shisui, who now seemed very annoyed, or Itachi, who was starting to look a little embarrassed, could say anything, Sakura quickly replied that she didn’t think they’d made any of Mikoto’s signature dishes, and would she please tell Sakura about them? And in this way neatly distracted Mikoto from making other comments that made Shisui look like he was smelling something unpleasant.

After about two hours of polite conversation and catching up quietly with Sasuke while Naruto occasionally yelled in both their ears, Sakura felt a slight headache coming on. It wasn’t helping that Mikoto seemed determined to ever so gently steer her in the direction of Itachi, though she did it so subtly and casually Sakura was unsure each time whether she was doing it on purpose. Also, Shishui kept ‘checking up’ on her every half hour, despite her assurances that nothing concerning her wellbeing had changed in the past thirty minutes.  
When Sakura checked the time on her phone, she saw that it would still be a while until dinner, and so quietly wandered out of the main area where the majority of the family was gathered. She knew the house well after playing so much hide and seek what felt like ages ago. She trailed her left hand over the beautiful mahogany walls, and slipped in one of the side rooms. It was one the guest rooms Fugaku used for whenever he had work-related company over, and the room was, though professional, comfortable. There were a couple of seats, a coffee table, a book case, and most importantly, no other people.  
Sakura sighed in relief as the murmur of the party faded away and rubbed her temples. Maybe she’d taken on a bit too much in one day after all. She took a sip of her water that she’d brought with her, and let her eyes wander over the books’ ends. Philosophy, law, history, psychology… “Such a serious bunch,” she murmured to herself. She picked up a title she recognised from a conversation with Itachi, and leafed through the book while leaning against one of the seats. In this manner she spent a little while recharging with just the sound of pages being turned. After fifteen minutes or so, a knock startled her from Rousseau’s flight to Switzerland.  
“Sakura?” The door opened, and Shisui stepped inside, closing it behind him. “Here you are. You okay?”  
“Hey, sorry,” and Sakura put down the book. “I’m fine, I just wanted a bit of quiet.”  
“You should’ve said something, I would’ve just taken you to my room.”  
Was that a pout in his voice? Sakura hid her smile behind her hand. “No worries, just a bit of a headache. I’m all good to go back now, though,” she said, and moved towards the door to prove her point.  
“No, wait…” Shisui took her arm. “Do you want to hang out for a while? Just the two of us?”  
“Um, sure. What’s up?”  
“Hmm,” Shisui said, and pulled Sakura a little closer. “I’m a little worried about you. Isn’t it weird to live with Itachi? And all his other friends?”  
“You’re Itachi’s friend too, you know,” Sakura pointed out.  
Shisui rolled his eyes. “That’s _different_.”  
Sakura’s voice took on a teasing edge. “How so, mister Shisui? Are you just that special?”  
“You’re special to me.”  
Sakura looked at him in surprise, opened her mouth to answer, and closed it again.  
“Sakura? Are you in here?”  
Shisui threw his head back and groaned. “No. Go away.”  
The door opened. Itachi’s head appeared, and he looked at Shisui disapprovingly. “Dinner is starting.” His gaze landed on Sakura. “Are you alright?”  
“I’m fine, I’m fine,” and Sakura took the opportunity to slip out of a situation that was growing more tense by the second between the two boys. She made her way over to the dining room and from the corner of her eye she saw them following; good. She didn’t know what that weird mood was all about, but she was sure they’d just forget about it after a nice meal together.  
Sakura’s eyes swept over the large dining room where several tables had been beautifully set, with most guests already sitting down, and some still walking about. There was a large and elegant buffet in the middle of the room, and the smell was making her mouth water already. When she spotted Sasuke and Naruto she made her way over to them, and sat down between the two.  
“Hey, where were you? We were looking for you,” Naruto said.  
“Sorry, just wanted a bit of quiet. I’m fine,” Sakura answered. “I _am_ really hungry, though. Are we starting yet?”  
“In a few minutes,” Sasuke said. “We’re the second table, so after Fugaku’s group has gone–,” and Sasuke pointed to the table to their right, “we can go.”  
“Cool,” Sakura said. “It smells awesome.” Across the room, she saw Itachi and Shisui sit down at the table to their left, but both looked irked and didn’t speak to each other. Sakura frowned. She would talk to them about this at some point, or at the very least Itachi. But.   
That would be something for future Sakura, because right now, it was their table’s turn to go, and she wasn’t going to let anything get between her and Mikoto’s vegetable dumplings.


	4. Chapter 4

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hi everyone! Sorry about the delay. University deadlines are killing me. I hope you enjoy Sakura who is suffering the same fate.  
> Thanks so much for all the sweet comments, they really make me want to keep writing!

Chapter 4  
As much as Sakura had meant to pull Itachi aside to ask whether he and Shisui were okay, and if she needed to talk with them both, life got in the way. University was nearing the end of spring term, which meant exams, papers, and extra lectures to cover challenging material again. In the weeks leading up to her deadlines and tests, Sakura went through a blur of class – eat – study – hospital – repeat. The hospital seemed intent on giving her the craziest shifts especially now that university had gotten so busy, and Sakura felt like she hardly saw anyone for three weeks straight.   
Since her shifts had her staying up at random hours so frequently, being short on sleep also resulted in her roommates finding her dozing on the sofa, in a kitchen chair, and at her desk late at night with all the lights still turned on. One time, this embarrassingly happened after she’d had dinner with Kisame, Sasori and Deidara. Sakura had mindlessly shoved some food into her mouth she didn’t really taste while thinking about the lesser known microbiological cultures she was sure professor Kurenai was going to test everyone on. But slowly, Sakura’s eyes started to close, and her head started to droop towards her chest. The three guys had just been chatting when Sasori abruptly stopped mid-sentence at the sight of Sakura slowly slumping in on herself. When he quickly reached forward to steady her, she didn’t even wake up.  
“What – she’s asleep, yeah?”  
“Sakura?” Sasori gently called out.  
Nope.  
“Well, guess we’re putting her to bed.” Sasori stood up, taking care to keep supporting Sakura as he went and scooped her into his arms.  
“Do you need help with that?” Kisame asked.  
“It’s fine, she’s not that heavy,” Sasori said while he crabwalked through the doorway to the hall so he didn’t bang Sakura’s legs against the wall.  
Though he rolled his eyes at Deidara muttering “showoff” under his breath as Sasori exited the kitchen and went up the stairs, he had to admit that though carrying Sakura wasn’t too big of a deal, carrying her _up the stairs_ had him breathing deeply. Ugh, gross. He could feel his hair sticking to his forehead, and the slight sweat he’d worked up made him feel hot and uncomfortable.  
He nudged open Sakura’s door with his foot, which wasn’t locked, thank god, and laid her down onto her bed as gently as he could. He wiped his face with his shirt.  
“Phew.” Sasori sat down on the edge of the bed. Maybe he should work out more. It’d have been _real_ embarrassing if he hadn’t been able to lift Sakura. Or worse, dropped her on the stairs. Can’t have only Kisame showing off his ridiculous muscles all the time.  
Despite Sasori’s intentions to leave Sakura to some undoubtedly well-deserved rest right away, he caught himself looking at her sleeping face.  
Lying here like this, with her cherry-blossom pink hair sprawled across her pillow, lips slightly parted and face free of the concentrated frown she’d been wearing the past few weeks, it’d be so easy to lean closer and –  
Sasori jerked himself back. Uhhhh. Got up quickly. Silently panicked for three seconds because his abrupt movements made Sakura shift in her sleep. Breathed again when she kept sleeping, and mechanically walked down the stairs, ignoring Kisame’s “Took you long enough,” to start doing dishes immediately.  
Asleep and blissfully ignorant of everything that had just happened, Sakura had a wonderful nap. She woke up after an hour or so, and felt completely disorientated for a good two minutes. Then she remembered dinner, and sleepiness, and puzzled together what must have happened – her slumping over and the guys carrying her upstairs. She hid her burning face in her hands and quietly went “aaaaaaahhhhhh” for a little while, then smoothed out her clothes, pulled herself together and went down to apologise.  
“Yo,” Sakura said as she walked into the kitchen, but it was empty; she only found Kisame playing a game on the couch. If she had to guess, he would probably have been the one to carry her; he was by far physically the strongest.  
“Hey there, sleeping beauty.”  
Sakura sat down on the arm of the couch and put her hands together in apology. “I’m so sorry! Thank you so much for being so nice and letting me sleep… and carrying me upstairs. I hope I wasn’t too heavy.”  
“Well, thank Sasori, he’s the one who carried you.”  
“Oh, so– you didn’t – ,” Sakura said, taken by surprise.  
Kisame grinned. “What, had you wanted me to do it? I’m flattered.”  
Sakura, already flustered from it all, blushed a deep red to Kisame’s amusement. He put down the controller in his lap and leaned back into the couch. “No worries, I’ll give you a lift anytime,” and he winked. Sakura hid her face behind her hands, but she was laughing. “Oh my gosh, stop. I just assumed – never mind.”  
“I can carry you _right now_ if you want,” and Kisame stood half-up, making to pick her up.  
“Nooooo!” Sakura laughed and struggled away from his hands.  
“Where do you think you’re going?” Kisame managed to get an arm around Sakura’s waist and pull her towards him. He’d intended to swoop his other arm under her knees and spin her around, but because Sakura was play-wrestling with him to thwart his attempts, instead she lost her balance from the arm of the couch and –   
“Oomf – ”  
Sakura landed with her face buried in Kisame’s well-defined chest. Fortunately she had managed to avoid kneeing him in the groin as she toppled over, but that did mean that her legs were now on either side of his, and his arm was still around her waist. Their laughter halted, because Sakura was embarrassed as hell and Kisame was very aware of how close this small but very cute, and dare he say, very sexy, girl suddenly was to his face. And so when Sakura made to get up he kept her securely squashed against him. Oh my god, she wasn’t wearing a bra and he could feel – Kisame closed his eyes. That was going to be a very sexy dream later. In an attempt to lighten the current mood, though, he just gave her a big hug and then let her go.   
He immediately regretted it, because now he got to see her sit up on his lap, cheeks prettily flushed, hair tousled, eyes twinkling and a laugh still on her face. “Gosh! What were you doing, grappling me like that? I didn’t hurt you, did I?”  
Kisame swallowed, and wanted to say a hundred things that all went along the lines of _I think you should kiss me to heal the terrible wounds you inflicted on me_ , but managed a grin instead. “You think you could hurt me? With that tiny butt?”  
“I feel insulted. I will have you know that my butt is very strong and intimidating.” Sakura got up from the couch, and Kisame sat up.   
“Anyway, sorry again for falling asleep like that! I’ll go find and thank Sasori,” and with a smile and a wave Sakura walked out of the common room.  
Kisame watched her as she went. When she had gone up the stairs, he let out a small groan and covered his eyes with his hand.

“Sasori?” Sakura quietly knocked on his door.  
“Yeah, come in,” his voice came from inside. Sakura opened the door and peeked inside. Sasori swiveled around in his chair; he’d been working behind his laptop. “Hey there. Did you sleep well?”  
“I did, thank you. And, um, thanks so much for carrying me. That was really sweet of you.”  
Sasori smiled. “No problem at all. I’m glad you rested up a bit. Are you okay? You seem really tired lately.”  
“Ah… Yeah, it’s been crazy. It’s almost over though! So no more zombie Sakura soon. I hope.” Sakura laughed and tucked her hair behind her ear.  
“Take care of yourself, okay?” Sasori frowned. Though she looked a bit better after getting some rest, he could still see the bags under her eyes that came from consistent long days and short nights.  
Sakura waved her hand. “I’ll be fine! You too, alright? You and Deidara stay at KC so long sometimes. Don’t forget to eat.”  
How cute, Sasori thought. “You just worry about yourself,” he said. “Also, I still intend to take you out to see something fun when things calm down. Let me know when you’re free.”  
“Oh…Thanks so much, Sasori.” Sakura smiled warmly at him. “You’ve all been so considerate. I feel really lucky that I have roommates like you.”  
Though Sakura had meant the “you” plurally, referring to all the guys, Sasori couldn’t help but feel like she’d meant him specifically, which made him feel rather smug with himself. “Of course.”  
“Well, I’ll leave you to it, then,” and Sakura nodded towards his laptop. “I’ll see you later.”  
“Yeah, you too,” Sasori gave her a small wave goodbye. He turned around and looked at his hands. “See you later,” he said softly.

Except Sakura didn’t really have time for a “later”. Though she was careful not to fall asleep during dinner anymore, the fatigue started to weigh on her, and she yawned as she crept behind the wheel after her hospital was mercifully over. Kisame had kindly offered his truck when she complained earlier today that she’d been assigned the night shift again, for the third time this week. Usually, Sakura biked home – the hospital wasn’t that far – but this once she’d gratefully accepted the comfort of a vehicle that didn’t make her use her already aching legs.  
After an exhausting six hour shift, Sakura’s mind was blank as she drove home. Everything was quiet so early in the morning, and hardly anyone was on the road. She pulled up as close to the house as possible, and quietly made her way inside. No one wants to be woken up by a noisy roommate at four in the morning. As she hung up her coat, however, she was surprised by the door opening again to reveal, of all people, Hidan. He looked just as surprised as she felt: he physically halted for a second and stared at her, then seemed to shake himself out of it and stepped inside.  
“Um…Good morning.”  
“’Morning.” He hesitated, but then asked: “Where’d you come from?”  
Sakura felt she had hardly seen Hidan around the house. After her first disastrous impression of him she had just been relieved to see so little of him, but after a while she’d grown more curious of why he was out all the time. She knew he worked multiple jobs, but didn’t he even sleep or eat at home?  
“The hospital. They’ve put me on a lot of night shifts lately. What…what about you?”  
Hidan put away his shoes. “Just work.”  
“What kind of jobs do you do?” Sakura asked. “You’re always out.”  
Hidan looked up and smirked. “Aw, you missing me that much?”  
Sakura gave him a look. “That is not what I – ”  
“Security at a club during the night, motor shop during the day.”  
“Oh. I see,” Sakura said. Hidan moved to the common room, and she quietly followed him to get a glass of water before she went to bed. From the corner of her eyes, she saw him throw himself on the couch and turn the tv on with the sound off.  
Sakura drank from her water, and, leaning against the sink, on a whim suddenly asked: “Aren’t you going to sleep?”  
“Nah. Still got the music in my head.”  
But he must be tired, Sakura thought. In the dim light she’d still caught the haggard look on his face of someone overworked and sleep-deprived – not unlike what had been greeting her in the mirror these past weeks. Sakura finished her water and put down the glass. Perhaps they’d just started wrong off wrong? She knew the feeling of working hard without a break all the time, and the amount of work Hidan seemed to be doing made her wonder if he was financially struggling. Having lived in a small apartment with her mom, Sakura could empathise there too.   
She walked over to the couch, and at the sound of her feet softly padding the wooden floor Hidan slightly turned his head. “Didya want to watch too?”  
“Um, yeah. Just for a bit.” From the looks of it, an old film was playing. Sakura looked at the actors’ moving lips, and for a while there was only the quiet buzz of the screen. Sakura had no idea what time it was, and somehow it felt like they were in a different time zone altogether, away from the realities of day and night.  
“So… You have a rough night? You look like shit.”  
“Thanks,” Sakura replied lightly. “I believe the bleary eyed look will be the new trend soon enough, watch my words.”  
Hidan snorted.  
“But, yeah. It was a rough night.” Sakura looked down at her hands. “A teenager overdosed, and his mom was in hysterics. It took forever to calm her down. She just– she just couldn’t stop crying.” Sakura stopped, surprised with herself for talking about it Hidan of all people. She didn’t talk about this stuff at all, usually. It made Ino uncomfortable and Hinata got upset. Naruto, as much as he meant well, offered a clumsy “You’ll be okay, Sak,” and though Sasuke had patiently listened to her a few times in the past, it seemed to weigh on him too. Sakura hadn’t wanted to use any of her friends as an emotional crutch, and so she kept these incidents to herself. Knowing how to help someone through a panic attack or hysteria didn’t mean it wasn’t difficult to see, and this hadn’t even been one of the worst times.  
“Yeah. That’s pretty rough, alright.”  
Sakura looked up into Hidan’s eyes, which flickered strangely and beautifully in the light of the tv screen.  
“You doin’ okay?”  
Sakura breathed out slowly through her nose. “Yeah. I’ll be okay.”  
Hidan put out a hand and ruffled her short hair. “Don’t push yourself.”  
Though surprised more than anything else, Sakura smiled. This startled Hidan in turn, and seeing his face so free of sneers and smirks was…quite refreshing, actually.  
“Thanks,” Sakura said, this time genuinely. She got up. “I think I’ll go to bed now, though. Um…” She lingered for a second. “Sleep well.”  
“Yeah, you too.”

After a few short hours of sleep, Sakura went downstairs to get some breakfast. Fortunately she didn’t need to be anywhere this morning, and so she’d allowed herself to sleep past her usual alarm. Unsurprisingly, Hidan was already gone, as were most of the others. While chewing her toast, Sakura’s mind wandered off to last night. She actually didn’t mind Hidan so much, the way he’d been. She hadn’t expected him to be capable to be so…well, considerate.   
“G’morning,” someone yawned behind her, and Sakura was startled out of her musings.  
“Good morning,” she replied to Deidara, who sleepily poured himself some coffee. “I thought you’d be off already.”  
“Nah…stayed up late finishing stuff for a deadline. Taking the day off today, yeah.” Deidara sat down with his steaming mug, and rubbed his eyes. “God. Can’t wait until this is over.”  
Sakura reached forward and empathically patted him on the arm. “Hang in there. Just a little bit more.”  
“Yeah. Hey, um…” Deidara looked up at her. He’d clearly just rolled out of bed; his hair was still frazzled. He ran through it with his hand. “There’s going to be an exhibition thing with our finished works, yeah. Later, I mean. In two weeks. Do you… would you like to come see?”  
“Sure! I’d love to see what you and Sasori have been making.”  
Deidara gave her a bright smile. “Awesome! Yeah, okay. I’d be, um, really happy if you came, yeah. I could, you know, show you around and stuff.”  
“It’s a deal,” Sakura promised. “Just text me when and where and I’ll do my best to make it.” Pleased, Deidara leaned back and drank from his coffee. After Sakura finished her meal, she went upstairs, put on a hoodie and reached for her phone. The house was wonderfully quiet, and she was going to make most of it – the amount of study material she was dealing with currently was no joke. She’d been meaning to let her friends know she was still alive, though, and so spent a little while sending out texts to Ino (who demanded that they go shop once they were done with the term), Hinata (who sweetly offered to do a study sesh together), and Sasuke and Naruto (the former wished her good luck on her exams; the latter didn’t reply. Probably still sleeping.). After a big stretch, Sakura sat down at her desk and got to work. She became so absorbed in her work that it seemed like she’d only blinked, and the clock had run a marathon race of three hours.  
“Huh,” Sakura said, and rubbed her forehead, leaning back in her chair. As if on cue, there was a knock on her door.   
“Sakura? Are you in?”  
“Yep, what’s up?”  
Itachi stepped inside. Sakura didn’t understand how this man, amongst everyone dragging themselves to the finish line of spring term exams, could still look so put-together. It should be a crime to look good in just a turtleneck and black jeans. Also, she hadn’t seen him in his glasses much, but they suited him very well.  
“It’s been a minute,” Itachi said and smiled at her. “I know we’ve both been busy, but I can’t help but look forward to when we can cook together again.”  
“Gah, me too. Sorry we haven’t see each other much.” Sakura hesitated for a moment. “How is… How are you? And, um, how is Shisui?” She asked carefully.  
The corners of Itachi’s mouth twitched. “I am well, and he’s doing fine.”  
“I meant to talk to you after the family gathering,” Sakura said. “I know there was a bad atmosphere around you and Shisui and I just wanted to check if you were all doing okay. Was it because of me? Did I do something wrong?”  
Itachi’s expression softened, and he stepped forward to sit down opposite Sakura, on the edge of her bed. “No, of course not. You didn’t do anything wrong. Me and Shisui were just having an argument.” He sighed and looked away. “We still need to properly talk about it. But we will. We’ve always been good friends, and we’ll sort it out.” His dark eyes turned back to Sakura and she couldn’t help but feel warm under his gaze. “I apologise if we made you feel uncomfortable.”  
“No, no, I’m all good,” Sakura shook her head, “I just don’t want things to be weird because of me.”  
“Please don’t worry.”  
“‘Kay,” Sakura said and pulled up her legs to rest her arms on her knees. Itachi’s eyes were drawn to her movement, and lingered – Sakura was wearing track shorts that rose up to reveal milky, toned thighs. Itachi swallowed and stood up.  
“I’ll be going, then. Take care of yourself.”  
“Will do, you too,” Sakura replied, but he’d already gone. Well. Alright. Maybe he was just in a hurry.  
Anyway… She swivelled her chair back around to her notes. Back to studying for now.


	5. Chapter 5

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Chapter 5! Thank you everyone for your patience!! All your sweet comments and kudos kept me going ; o ; <3  
> Enjoy!!

Chapter 5  
“Oh my goddd, yes. Yeees. Yes!!! _Yes._ ” If she could, Sakura would have danced out of the exam hall. Instead, she settled for a tired fist pump. Finally, finally done! With a content sigh she opened the last set of doors and was greeted by the setting sun. She blinked against the light; it really felt like a different world when you were seated under the white whirring LED lamps on an uncomfortable wooden chair.  
Ohh. Ohhhhh. She was going to go home and _sleep_. Actually, no, she was going to go home, eat ice cream, and _then_ sleep.  
Sakura hummed biking home, and was so caught up in the reveries about her _ice cream ice cream_ that she didn’t notice Hidan in the driveway when she put her bike away. With her back turned to him, she also missed his smirk at her dancing. Sakura swung her hips to her tune, and did a little twirl – stopping dead in her tracks when she locked eyes with the man across the parking space.  
“Uh… Hel…lo,” she said slowly and cautiously.   
Hidan burst out in laughter. “What was that?”  
“Are you judging me right now?” Sakura huffed. Hidan winked at her.  
“If you wanna’ learn how to _actually_ dance, you can always ask me to show ya’.”  
“No thanks,” Sakura chirped brightly. Whatever! Hidan could snigger at her all he wanted. She’d finished her exams and no one was going to put a damper on her mood today.   
Sakura turned and meant to leave Hidan to poke fun at her by himself, but when she took off her shoes, he stepped inside as well. “What’s got you in such a good mood, huh?”  
By this point, however, Sakura had completely lost interest in anything Hidan had to say. She’d already made her way to the kitchen, and opened the freezer. Hmm… She could make a little sorbet… Or just live indulgently and deliciously and eat straight out of the tub, maybe put on some cheesy romcom…  
She finally settled on making her treat at least a little pretty, and pulled out her favourites – banana and caramel – and generously filled up a bowl.  
“You celebrating?” Sakura slightly started at Hidan’s voice so close, but he was just leaning against the counter to her right.  
“Yep! I’m done with my exams. Ice cream is the only way to go about this, really.”  
“Hmm…”   
When Sakura turned for one second to get a spoon, Hidan sneaked with a spoon of his own (that he’d gotten from where?) and stole a bite of her ice cream.  
Sakura’s dark look would have totally and completely incinerated Hidan right there and then had it not been for her tired giddiness at finishing exam hell.   
She held up a finger threateningly. “You. Are going to buy me ice cream for that,” she said. “Don’t touch my stuff. Get your own dang cream.”  
“Ooh, so scary, so stingy,” Hidan said. “Sharing is caring.”  
“Case in point. I don’t share with the dance police.” Sakura took her precious ice cream bowl with her and headed upstairs, to sweet solace, silence, and after finishing the best ice cream she felt she’d ever had, sleep.

Distracted by the glorious feeling of sleeping a full eight hours at night and getting to relax during the day, Sakura had totally forgotten about the whole ice cream incident until Hidan, to her surprise, approached her two days later. He was wearing a motorbike helmet and held another one under his arm. “Here.”  
“Here…?” Sakura was sitting at the table with a magazine and a glass of water. “What?”  
Hidan rolled his eyes. “Put this on and come with me.”  
“To where? What’s going on here? Am I being kidnapped?” Sakura narrowed her eyes in suspicion. She’d made sure not to make any plans for the next few days, only to meet Sasuke and Naruto for ramen to celebrate. She was still going to fulfill her promise to Ino to go shopping, and there was Deidara and Sasori’s exhibition, but the one thing she wanted right now was to relax, have fun and chill out. Not go on a impromptu roadtrip.  
Hidan clicked his tongue, annoyed. “I’m just doing what ya’ told me to do, sheesh. Are you coming or what?”  
Sakura slowly took the helmet. “But where –”  
“Just out to town, relax.”  
“Okay. Fine. Can you help me with this…?” Sakura fumbled with the helmet’s straps, until Hidan took it from her, opened it and put it on her head.  
“Ow, gently!”  
“It’d be gentle if you didn’t move your dang head so much!”  
“You’re so impatient,” Sakura told him.  
“Shut up,” Hidan said and reached his hands around her neck. Sakura had to stop herself from moving back in surprise, and instead patiently (unlike _some_ people) waited till Hidan was done checking if the helmet was on her head right. He then secured the straps and rapped his knuckles on her head when he was done. “Let’s go.”  
They headed out, and Hidan swung his legs over his motorbike. “Get on, and hold on tightly. When I make bends, don’t try to move your weight to the other side, just go along with how I move.”  
“Yessir.”  
Sakura gingerly climbed on the back seat, and put her hands on Hidan’s sides. Without warning, he grabbed his hands and pulled her forward.  
“Wh – Hey, what are you doing?”  
“What are _you_ doing?” came a muffled reply. Hidan had flipped down the visor of his helmet and when he turned his head Sakura couldn’t see his face. “You’re gonna’ fall off like that. Put your arms like so –” and he pulled her to himself until she was fitted snugly against his back, “and hold onto your own arms.” Sakura begrudgingly did.   
“Ready?”  
“Ready,” Sakura said, and they took off. Sakura realised Hidan’s ride was a hybrid – maybe a scooter rather than a motorcycle, but then she didn’t know that much about this kind of stuff.  
It was a wonderful feeling regardless. Hidan didn’t go crazy fast, to Sakura’s pleasant surprise, but still fast enough for her to feel like the wind whooshing around her was what was carrying her instead of the bike. After a minute or two she relaxed enough to actually look around her and see where they were going. She recognised this part of town well enough – there was a café around here that Ino loved, and a plant shop she’d visited a couple of times, oh, and over there an eatery Naruto had taken them to one time. The weather was beautiful, and the terraces in front of restaurants and cafés were packed. Hidan went past them, turned into another road and finally stopped in front of a cute little spot that Sakura recognised as an ice creamcafé.  
Hidan’s bike sputtered to a halt as he parked them, and motioned for Sakura to get off first. She did, and they took off their helmets. Hidan slicked his hair back as if it was necessary, and gestured to the place. “Here we are. Ice cream.”  
“Ice cream,” Sakura repeated and then realised, finally, why they were here. “Oh–! Oh my gosh, really? Are you treating me to ice cream?”  
“After you, princess.”  
“Oh my _gosh_ ,” and Sakura practically danced inside. Hidan followed her, chuckling.  
“Wow, there’s so many.”  
“Yeah, they have vegan stuff too. I heard ya’ didn’t eat meat, so, well…”   
Sakura eyed Hidan with suspicion. That was very thoughtful, and if it had come from anyone else, she would’ve called it sweet. Well. She could always interrogate him for ulterior motives over her ice cream.  
“Our ice-cream is soy-free and gluten-free,” the girl behind the counter smiled at them. Sakura smiled back. “Awesome, thanks so much. What are you having, Hidan?”  
“Hmm… I’ll go with bubblegum and mango.”  
“I’ll have the pistachio, and…” Sakura’s eyes slid over the wide array of flavours. “Ooh, and raspberry, please.”  
“Would you like cups or cones?”  
“A cup for me, please.”  
“Me as well.” Hidan handed over the money, and Sakura claimed the last free table outside. Other people were enjoying their ice cream or coffee, chatting amongst themselves, and the whole scene had just such a pleasant atmosphere to it that Sakura beamed at Hidan when he came outside with their ice creams.  
“Here ya’ go.”  
“Thank youuu.” Sakura took her first bite, and closed her eyes in bliss. “Oh my god, this is so good.”  
Hidan had some of his own, and agreed. “It’s the best one around here.”  
“So…What brought this on?”  
Hidan looked up and frowned. “What d’you mean? I’m just being nice and taking you out to ice cream.”  
“Hmm.”  
“Actually, I do need a favour.”  
Aha.  
“See, I have a…thing coming up that I can’t really miss,” Hidan said carefully. “But it clashes with one of my shifts at the motor shop.”  
“I can see where this is going, and I just want to assure that I have absolutely zero expertise with motors whatsoever –”  
“You don’t have to do nothing, you just have to be at the counter and take calls for appointments, greet clients, that sort of thing,” Hidan said quickly. “C’mon, do me a solid. None of the guys can make it.”  
“I see. And I’m the last resort.”  
Hidan groaned. “Don’t make me beg, here.”  
“When is it? And what are you doing instead, anyway?” Sakura took another bite of ice cream and frowned at Hidan. “You’re being very secretive about this.”  
“This Friday. And it’s none of yer’ business what I’m doing.”  
“Cool. I guess it’s also none of my business that you’re missing a shift.”  
Hidan closed his eyes and pinched his nosebridge. “…se.”  
“What was that?”  
“Please.”  
Sakura nodded. “That’s starting to sound better.”  
“Ugh. I never shoulda’ asked you.”  
Sakura finally laughed. “Cheer up, I’ll see if I can help you. But I do really have to know what you’re doing instead. And some more details about the motor place, please.”  
Hidan looked up quickly. “So you’ll do it?”  
Sakura held up her hands. “Not so fast. I still don’t know if it clashes with any shifts I might have.” She was fairly sure she did have to go in on Friday during the afternoon, so if Hidan’s thing was during that time, well, too bad. Even if he did treat her to ice cream.  
“It’s in the evening, seven to ten.”  
Sakura nodded. “That should work out.”  
“Really?” Hidan flashed her the kind of smile that Sakura hadn’t really seen before from him. It was genuine, and it felt kind of refreshing to see him acting so unlike what she had experienced before.  
“Yeah, I’ll help out.”  
“Thank you. That’s really great.”  
“Well, I am really great.”  
Hidan snorted, but didn’t offer a retort.   
Sakura secretly thought that if she’d asked him right now, though, he would agree.

“Aaahhhhh,” Sakura sighed, and leaned back in contentment. “This is the good life. Exams over, deadlines done, no homework… and noodles.”  
“Ramen is the one true celebratory food on any occasion,” Naruto said through a mouthful beside her, and even Sasuke “mhm’d” his agreement.  
They’d frequented Ichiraku ever since they were young – or rather, Naruto had dragged them to place. Now that life was busier, they didn’t get to hang out as often, but somehow Ichiraku had become the place they went to whenever they wanted to celebrate. They could hear Ichiraku himself frying up meals behind the big counter, and the familiar smells and steam of his ramen was comforting and relaxing. Sakura had just finished a six hour shift at the hospital, and she felt like the hot and sour noodle soup was just washing away her aching feet.  
“Do you guys feel like you did well?” Sakura asked.  
“Well enough,” Sasuke answered, which meant he’d gotten the high scores his family expected of him.  
Naruto nodded and slurped up some noodles, adding: “Well, not like I expect Kakashi to return our grades anytime soon. Maybe in a month or two. If he ever gets around to it at all.”  
“Should I even ask whether you did well? Miss future world’s top surgeon?” Sasuke smiled.  
Sakura laughed. “I think I could’ve done better on some things… but it’s in the past now! Time to catch up on tv series. And sleep a lot.”  
“Are you doing anything else to celebrate?”  
“Hmm, well, I promised Ino we’d go shop… Oh, and the guys want to do a barbecue.”  
Sasuke looked at her with slight surprise. “Itachi didn’t mention that at all.”  
“Oh, really? Maybe he just forgot.”  
Sasuke didn’t reply, but Sakura spotted a small frown when he turned back to his bowl of noodles.  
“Oooh, a barbecue sounds fun! We should do that too, Sasuke.”  
“I don’t like standing around in the heat and smoke and eating half burned, half undercooked meat.”  
“Geez, you party pooper…”  
The three finished up their meals, chatting and laughing and poking fun at each other. Sakura couldn’t remember the last time she’d felt so pleasantly warm and relaxed. It was wonderful not to have classes right now, and she hadn’t been scheduled for too many shifts at the hospital. In short, life was good.  
When they’d paid and said their goodbyes, Sakura walked home leisurely. She didn’t have anyplace to be, and took her time, taking in the scenery. Laughter and music wafted from open windows, and though the sun had already set, it was still casting its afterlight onto the clouds, making pretty shapes. Sakura arrived home in a great mood.  
“I’m home,” Sakura said stepping into the living room. Itachi and Kisame were seated on the couch, watching some film Sakura didn’t recognise. The former turned his head back to greet her. “Welcome back. You look happy.”  
“Mhm,” Sakura nodded. “Noodles are good.”  
Itachi smiled a soft smile. “I’m glad you had a good time.”  
Sakura wandered over and bent down, putting her head in her hands and her elbows on the back of the couch. “What’re you guys watching? Can I join?”  
Kisame patted the space on the couch next to him. “It’s this old film ‘Tachi wanted to see. Supposedly some brilliant law piece.”  
“Shh, let her see for herself.”  
In what she hoped was a graceful feat of acrobatics, Sakura climbed right over the back seat and plopped herself in between the two men. “Hmm, don’t think I’ve seen this one before… Wait, who is that?” The last part was stage-whispered to Kisame, who loudly whispered back. “It’s the protagonist’s uncle. I betcha he’ll turn out as the evil mastermind bad guy behind everything at the end.”  
Annoyed, Itachi waved his hand at his friend to shut him up. Kisame and Sakura both quietly laughed under their breaths.  
“Oh, no, why is she crying?”  
“Her girlfriend was the one murdered by… wait, he’ll be on the screen any second. No. Nope. Yes! That guy.”  
“With the blue shirt?”  
“No, no, the blonde one.”  
“Oh! But wasn’t he – ”  
“Yeah, he’s her brother. The plot thickens…”  
Itachi sent Kisame a deadpan glare. “If you can’t sit quietly, leave.”  
“Sorry, sorry,” Kisame chuckled. “I’ll behave.”  
The three of them settled back and watched the film in silence. Maybe it was because she’d just eaten a warm meal, or maybe the couch was really comfy. But Sakura felt drowsy, and her eyes kept closing even though she was trying hard to pay attention, because the evil uncle was getting some major foreshadowing and she wanted to know if Kisame had been right.  
Ten mere minutes later, however, she was sound asleep on Kisame’s shoulder.  
He looked down in silent surprise when he felt soft hair touch his bare skin, but didn’t say anything as he gently moved Sakura’s hair out of her face. He hadn’t been that close to her again since their little rumble-a-tumble what felt like years ago, and although the room was dark he could still make out her face. He kind of wished that Itachi wasn’t here right now. His friend hadn’t noticed anything yet (absorbed in the fictional legalese, from what Kisame could tell), or if he had, he hadn’t let Kisame know.  
Sakura murmured something and shifted her head, sliding down a little. As much as Kisame would have liked to let her lie in his lap, he carefully put an arm around her (so very tiny, compared to his) shoulder to steady her.  
Maybe it was this movement that caught Itachi’s eye, but he looked over to the two of them. Taken aback, dissatisfaction, maybe even anger? Though he’d known Itachi for a long time, Kisame couldn’t quite tell in the dim light.  
“Should we take her upstairs?” Itachi said quietly. His tone was too even and controlled for it to be normal, and Kisame wondered not for the first time if ‘Tachi had any feelings for Sakura – maybe that was even why he’d invited her here in the first place. Somehow, he couldn’t bring himself to ask.  
“Nah, let’s just let her sleep like this.”  
Itachi pursed his lips slightly, but didn’t say anything. After they’d finished the film in a somewhat awkward atmosphere, Kisame gently patted Sakura on the cheek. “Time to sleep in your own bed, sleepyhead.”  
Sakura slowly opened her eyes, squinted at Kisame grinning down at her, then quickly scrambled up. “Oh my gosh, I’m so sorry. Was I asleep for long? Has the film ended?”  
“Yup, but no worries. We felt bad about waking you up.”  
Sakura apologised again to the both of them, and promised that next time she would make for a better film watching companion. Then she went upstairs, because, she declared, she was clearly a sleepy dummy who needed her rest. Itachi turned off the TV with a click, and followed. Kisame felt like he should say something, but he didn’t know what. In the end, he went to sleep feeling like he’d done something wrong, although he’d make the same choice again every time if it meant Sakura would lean against him like that.


End file.
